Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 In a message dated 6/1/2006 10:05:41 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, kittenkorner@... writes: Do you ever get to a point where you can pretty much tell what foods are doing to your body?? " OR " must you test daily for the remainder of your life!!!! Hi Joyce, This is the way I control diabetes. I'm not telling anyone else to do it this way. This is what works for me. If I had to test after every meal, my bg's would be high, I would be stressed to the limit. Most of the time I can tell what foods are doing to my body. I don't test every day, sometimes I forget. LOL I do try to test at least once a day. Sometimes I'll test twice. I've even tested 3 times occasionally. I test fasting about once every two weeks, because my fasting is always below 100. I do test when I eat something different or if I eat and don't do any time of exercise afterwards. I don't want to sound like I don't take diabetes seriously because I certainly do, but I just can't let it control me. For instance, I know if I eat oatmeal for breakfast, I'm going to get a normal reading, so I don't test every time I eat oatmeal. If I have a salad and a cup of yogurt for dinner, I know that I'll get a normal reading, so I don't test every time after this meal. We have tacos almost every Saturday night. This was one thing I refused to give up. At first, I had to exercise 30-45 minutes after eating them to get good numbers. Now, all I have to do is clean the kitchen (which I wait about 45 minutes to do this). My numbers will range from 89 to 140. What causes this much difference, I don't know. This does not mean that I'm going to test every Saturday night. The only time I would worry about a high number is if I got high readings 2 or more times. hugs Eunice - Sensible eating/exercise/Positive Attitude/Faith in God get me through each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Do you ever get to a point where you can pretty much tell what foods are doing to your body?? " OR " must you test daily for the remainder of your life!!!! TLC JOYCE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 > > Do you ever get to a point where you can pretty much tell what foods are > doing to your body?? Yes, definitely. After a dozen times eating the same meal and getting the same result afterward, I don't feel like I need to test after that meal on a regular basis anymore. I'll still test occasionally just to make sure nothing has changed, but in general I know what the standard foods in my diet will do to me. I still always check blood sugar a few times a day just to keep on top of things (and because nothing is ever exact with diabetes - the foods that worked fine for me yesterday might not work fine for me today if I changed my exercise or didn't get enough sleep or whatever) and I always check after I eat something that's new or unusual in my diet. But you really do get to a point where you can predict reasonably well what a particular food will do to your blood sugar. The important thing is to keep checking from time to time anyway and not give in to that feeling of, " Oh, I know exactly what this does to my blood sugar, I never need to test anymore. " Because your body does change over time so you need to keep on top of it. But it does get a lot easier. :-) Molly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Eunice, what you say is what I am aiming for. I do not want to be testing as much as I do right now, but I have to learn what I can or can't eat as well as when it seems. You said you started out on meds and then you stopped them. You said you started out testing and now keep it to a minimum. I hope to follow your example (I didn't start on meds and have no intentions of going that route unless I for some reason have no choice). But, how long did it take you to figure out what foods you could eat? How long did it take you to get back to life and away from constantly watching what you eat, how much, when, etc? I can't feel any difference in my body when my BS# is high or not. I've been careful and I think for now it is necessary at least until I reach my target weight if I can, because my other numbers (BP, lipids, etc) have gotten much better too. I miss my junk food to some degree, but not as much as I thought I would. I do worry, though, about how high my BS# really can get before doing my body harm and there doesn't seem to be any way to prevent it except to find out when seeing my eye dr or cardiologist etc..... and then dealing with it. Or maybe that is why my endo said 170 for 3 days and no drop, call me! That might be the answer? That's when I get on meds and can worry about weight gain or loss and not what I'm eating LOL????? I think that the testing I am doing will not continue for ever because I will come to know what meals I can eat and times etc and it will become habit that I no longer have to think about? I had a wonderful day eating and numbers yesterday an this morning started out good too. I also saw someone write that they weren't even using any sweetner on their foods and found that they didn't miss it after awhile so I started that again as I did years ago. I'm only using it on foods/drinks that absoluely have to be sweetened and I am tasting them again :-). The only thing I really have to get under control better is my emotions at this moment but I think just maybe that too comes with time and adjusting to a new way of eating. I am always glad to read your posts. Wish I had your strawberries. I just started my plants and no strawberries yet - need them for strawberry dream LOL... oh and I think I am headed out for an ice cream maker! There must be a recipe (yours?) that I can tweak for my needs. I simply can't think of not having ice cream! sigh..... JUDITH --- > Hi Joyce, > This is the way I control diabetes. I'm not telling anyone else to do it > this way. This is what works for me. If I had to test after every meal, my > bg's would be high, I would be stressed to the limit. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.8.0/353 - Release Date: 5/31/06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 GOOD advice, especially liked the ending to your answer. JOYCE in Philly Re: EASIER!!! In a message dated 6/1/2006 10:05:41 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, kittenkorner@... writes: Do you ever get to a point where you can pretty much tell what foods are doing to your body?? " OR " must you test daily for the remainder of your life!!!! Hi Joyce, This is the way I control diabetes. I'm not telling anyone else to do it this way. This is what works for me. If I had to test after every meal, my bg's would be high, I would be stressed to the limit. Most of the time I can tell what foods are doing to my body. I don't test every day, sometimes I forget. LOL I do try to test at least once a day. Sometimes I'll test twice. I've even tested 3 times occasionally. I test fasting about once every two weeks, because my fasting is always below 100. I do test when I eat something different or if I eat and don't do any time of exercise afterwards. I don't want to sound like I don't take diabetes seriously because I certainly do, but I just can't let it control me. For instance, I know if I eat oatmeal for breakfast, I'm going to get a normal reading, so I don't test every time I eat oatmeal. If I have a salad and a cup of yogurt for dinner, I know that I'll get a normal reading, so I don't test every time after this meal. We have tacos almost every Saturday night. This was one thing I refused to give up. At first, I had to exercise 30-45 minutes after eating them to get good numbers. Now, all I have to do is clean the kitchen (which I wait about 45 minutes to do this). My numbers will range from 89 to 140. What causes this much difference, I don't know. This does not mean that I'm going to test every Saturday night. The only time I would worry about a high number is if I got high readings 2 or more times. hugs Eunice - Sensible eating/exercise/Positive Attitude/Faith in God get me through each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 It took me about 3 mos to constantly test everything 6-8 times a day before I figured out what was going on. After that I still tested frequently but not as much. Then I tested fasting, bedtime, and if I ate something new (before and 2 hrs after), if sick, or noticing symptoms of feeling strange. Eventually you will notice body signals and after the testing will know what is going on. I went for 4 years not knowing what was wrong and not controlling numbers as I should by testing only once or twice a day if that and being stressed by higher numbers and never knowing how to lower them, taking various meds getting nowhere. It was not until I did the frequent testing it all changed. That advice came from you guessed it - strangers on some other diabetes group. Best advice I ever got. It was definitely worthwhile. To me that's me taking control of diabetes. The other way I felt I was being controlled by it. Knowledge is power to change things. Not everyone has that drastic of changes to make. But it was what I needed. I do not feel it is a pain at all. It becomes a way of life and I hardly even notice it. I have even checked my BG in a movie theater in the dark, in a musical we went with friends, in restaurants, and just about anywhere. I have stood in grocery stores in an aisle checking my numbers. These were times when I felt hypo and was on insulin. I do not hide or wait til later. If I need to check I check. Frequent testing to me is a tool, does not control me, makes me free to not worry. I guess it all depends on how one looks at things. I don't want to go back to the drs in 3 mos for an A1C and find out it was too high. That's after the fact. I wanted action now. 3 mos is too long for me to wait. However, there may be some point in the future where I don't need the dr to monitor me as closely or monitor myself as closely. Right now the appts have moved from every 3 mos to every 6 mos. If a person maintains good control every 6 mos they usually move it to 1 year. So there is a progression and hope. Try not to focus on it will be this way forever, just one day at a time. Even if you can't notice differences in BG now, you will eventually. Why? because after they are normalized you will notice when it goes higher or lower because you are not used to it. When a person has constant highs and lows and bouncing all over, it is hard to notice what symtom means what. Mine used to be running around 200 all the time. When I was eventually used to numbers less than 110 if I went above 110 I felt really crummy, what I thought was feeling normal at 200. Also if you have a lot of other medical issues it may be hard to tell what symptom is from what problem. Some people just don't recognize any signals. Really it depends on one's other medical conditions, reasons for having diabetes in the first place, how far progressed it is when diagnosed, how hard it is to control, or how stable and easy it is to control, whether or not you are on insulin or other meds. They all play a factor into how often one needs to check BG. Someone on insulin is going to have to monitor themselves for life. Some people can go along for months and never have increases. Your dr will let you know how often to check BG and how long to continue. Every case is going to be different. But there is hope that you won't have to do it as often as now. Now one high number is not going to cause me to freak out either. Most drs or diabetic educators will say that if your BG goes high for 3 days in a row let them know. Even if you get on meds, you still have to watch what you eat. It's a combined thing not either or. So if you eventually end up on meds it is still best to have a regular eating plan in place. Like I said a lifestyle change. That way you don't feel you are okay now and can do whatever you want. Not doing damage? some charts show normal as not over 140 after meals and ADA charts show target range not over 160 after meals. You start the goal for ADA range and when you have consistently been there, change goals to normal range. Please don't feel as if you have to do this, it is what works for me and how I feel about it. To me it has been a life saver. Someone diagnosed as prediabetic or diabetes with their highest numbers as 150 is definitely going to have a different way of managing their diabetes than someone who has had higher than 300 numbers for a long time. Just because we all have diabetes doesn't mean controlling it will be exactly the same. Customize your own plan. Make sure it is one you can live with and feel good about. By all means don't feel you have to do as others do.Set goals you think you can do. This is a one step at a time. If you try and do it all NOW it will be hard. Implement little things one by one. > > I do worry, though, about how high my BS# really can get before doing my > body harm and there doesn't seem to be any way to prevent it except to find > out when seeing my eye dr or cardiologist etc..... and then dealing with it. > Or maybe that is why my endo said 170 for 3 days and no drop, call me! That > might be the answer? That's when I get on meds and can worry about weight > gain or loss and not what I'm eating LOL????? > > I think that the testing I am doing will not continue for ever because I > will come to know what meals I can eat and times etc and it will become > habit that I no longer have to think about? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2006 Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 , thank you so much for your thoughts! This is exactly what I've been feeling and doing even though my endo says 2x/day (nutritionist more or less said what you did re new foods and combos of foods until I know) and I personally feel more in control and less worried when I do what you said you did and are doing. I really needed to hear this. THANK YOU! Judith It took me about 3 mos to constantly test everything 6-8 times a day before I figured out what was going on. After that I still tested frequently but not as much. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.8.1/354 - Release Date: 6/1/06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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